Pages on social media circulated a report claiming there were what it described as "very advanced steps" toward Russia handing Maher al-Assad over to the Syrian government, in exchange for Syria dropping its demand for the extradition of Bashar al-Assad or not setting it as a condition.
The fact-checking team reviewed the official statements and remarks issued by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with what official bodies in both countries have announced regarding bilateral relations and the files under discussion between them. The review found no indication of any agreement or steps of this kind, and no credible evidence was found to support these assertions, which disproves what was circulated.
Why is this claim false?
Fabricated news: The claim rested on an undocumented account attributed to anonymous sources, without any official announcement or supporting document, in order to suggest the existence of a negotiating track between Damascus and Moscow over the Maher al-Assad file.
